CAR bags 3 gold, 4 silver, 15 bronze in SCUAA Games 2018

For five days, 16 regions in the Philippines competed for supremacy in the 2018 National State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SCUAA) Games held in Antique Province on February 19-23, 2018.

With the combined forces of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the official record tallies a total of three golds, four silvers, and 15 bronze medals were proudly hauled by the athletes for the region.

The athletes came from Benguet State University (BSU) with 175 players, Mountain Province State Polytechnic College (MPSPC) with 43 players, Apayao State College (ASC) with 25 players, Kalinga State University (KSU) with 22 players, Abra State Institute of Science and Technology (ASIST) with 18 and Ifugao State University (IFSU) with 51 players.

The CAR delegates brought home medals for combat sports such as Pencak Silat, Boxing, Taekwondo, and Arnis. They also gained medals for Athletics, while for ball sports the highest place was that of the BSU Futsal women where the CAR team went up to 4th place.

In the athletics, Brenda Dayao brought home two bronzes for the Javelin throw and the Discus throw; while Maricel Agustin got bronze in the 400-meter hurdle dash.

On the other hand, Estephany Dakilay from MPSPC brought home a gold for CAR in the 10-kilometer run. Jerald Sangdaan from KSU also gained a bronze in Boxing for CAR. Jayzee Tabanganay from KSU won bronze in Taekwondo; while Christine Inlagim from IFSU also added a bronze to the CAR medal count.

Dr. Rex B. Bawang, the overall sports coordinator for CAR, said that prior to the SCUAA Games, the athletes trained for a year, also in preparation for the Baguio – Benguet Educational Athletic League (BBEAL). BSU athletes were subjected to play outside the field to prepare for the games.

Dr. Florence V. Poltic, overall physician of the athletes said that two weeks before the SCUAA Games, athletes undergo the mandated medical check-up to assess what conditions are needed for each individual.

SUC Presidents Serafin L. Ngohayon of IFSU and Nelia Z. Cauilan of ASC graced the players in the Solidarity Meeting on the morning of February 18 to mentally prepare the players of the upcoming events.

“We must compete as brothers and sisters, erase the borders…we are not here as Benguet, Ifugao, Abra, Apayao, or Kalinga,” enthused Ngohayon. “We are here as Cordillera!”

“To all coaches and athletes, thank you for the friendship and camaraderie. Good luck to all of us!” encouraged Cauilan

In the afternoon, the athletes joined the regions for the parade. After a series of performances from the University of Antique (UA) students, an opening program was held with Monsour T. Del Rosario, Congressman of the 1st District of Makati as the guest speaker.

“'When you step in the ring, turn your fear into fire, because when you fight, nobody can coach desire’,” expressed Del Rosario.

The message was followed by the hoisting of the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) Banners, the Oath of Sportsmanship, and the Oath of Officiating Officials. Del Rosario also led the lighting of the Friendship Flames.

After the hype, a moment of silence was given to former SCUAA president Dr. Ricardo E. Rotoras for his untimely death on December 2017. White balloons crowd the sky as athletes and facilitators alike pray and dedicate the SCUAA 2018 to the Rotoras.

With that, the 2018 National SCUAA Games was declared open.

The SCUAA Games

Bawang said that the athletes did well in their overall performance in their respective games.

“We are happy to see all the efforts of our coaches and athletes are bearing fruit,” said Bawang adding that CAR as a whole surpassed their previous performance in the SCUAA Games.

The athletes were met with challenges such as hot weather and medical conditions that the athletes had prior to the games. Poltic said that one of the factors why the athletes were not able to perform well is the lack of time for acclimatization.

Poltic said that it takes five to seven days for full acclimatization (a process where an individual adjust to the current environment) of an athlete. Due to time constraints, the athletes were only able to acclimatize for a day before playing the games.

“Our advice if the athletes experience heat stress and exhaustion is that they take a shower and drink lots of water," Poltic said adding that the athletes, especially in the field, experienced heat stress and heat exhaustion.

“Most of the athletes failed in their previous games but then they took it as a challenge, they trained, and now they brought home medals,” expressed Bawang. He said that they are now working for the athletes’ incentive in order to give back the efforts that they contributed to the SCUAA games. Bawang said that he hopes for more athletes to join the BSU team from the incoming freshmen.

“We will try to recruit talents from our incoming freshmen… and hopefully more athletes will join the BSU team this school year,” he concluded.

In the final tally, CAR secured the 13th place out of 16 regions that competed for the 2018 National SCUAA Games.